Where is the safest seat in a car?
According to the National Safety Council, 2016 was the most dangerous year on America’s roads since 2007, with about 40,000 people dying in car accidents – a 6% increase from 2015. While many states impose strict penalties for texting or talking on the phone while driving, people continue to defy the rules.
Given the fact that everyone has other concerns these days and many people are sleep deprived, it seems like the perfect opportunity to see where the safest car seat is.
Despite often being the most boring seat in the car, researchers have repeatedly found that the middle seat in the back seat is the safest. In 2006, researchers at the University of Buffalo studied all fatal car crashes in the United States between 2000 and 2003 that involved a person sitting in the middle of the back seat and found that people in the back seat were 59 to 86 percent safer than front-seat passengers, and in the back seat, middle-seat passengers were 25 percent safer than their front-seat passengers.
The reason the middle seat is so much safer is because it provides more elbow room in the event of a side impact, explains Dr. Dietrich Jehle, an instructor of emergency medicine at the University at Buffalo and lead author of the study. Also, in the event of a rollover, there is less rotational force likely to be applied to the middle passenger than to those sitting next to the window.
Of course, in some cars, the middle seat doesn't have a full seat belt, in which case it should be avoided. The study also found that backseat passengers who wore seat belts were, overall, 2.4 to 3.2 times more likely to survive than those who didn't.
The research is as true for children as it is for adults. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend that children under 13 sit in the middle seat if they are fully belted, as opposed to just a lap belt. If the child is small enough to fit in a car seat, the best position is also in the middle, but facing the rear of the vehicle, at least for children under 2.
The more you know, the safer you and your loved ones will be! And learn more ways to stay safe behind the wheel.
